Apparently you're the only one having a problem seeing the similarities. You need to look past the combine numbers. Game tape should be 98% of the evaluation. You move a guy up to far because of measurables you are asking for failure. That is the kind of approach A Davis used to take to the draft and people laughed at him. Another example, mike mamula, remember him.

Apparently you're the only one having a problem seeing the similarities. You need to look past the combine numbers. Game tape should be 98% of the evaluation. You move a guy up to far because of measurables you are asking for failure. That is the kind of approach A Davis used to take to the draft and people laughed at him. Another example, mike mamula, remember him.

Now is not the time to take these kind of risk.

seriously, if there was any similarity do you think I would compare the two or be the least bit intrigued?

Jacoby ran a 4.5 in his forty, has super small hands, is shorter, less 5 inches in his vertical jump & played for a small school against lesser competition. There is your comparison.

Apparently you're the only one having a problem seeing the similarities. You need to look past the combine numbers. Game tape should be 98% of the evaluation. You move a guy up to far because of measurables you are asking for failure. That is the kind of approach A Davis used to take to the draft and people laughed at him. Another example, mike mamula, remember him.

Now is not the time to take these kind of risk.

Mario Williams and JPP have both been workout warriors that panned out great in recent drafts. Antonio Cromartie has done well too.

The only thing I can think of which could cause Stephen Hill to drop so many passes (trust fellow posters on this) he could be afraid of contact? This is obviously not tested @ the combine. If he is afraid of contact that's a whole other thing. When isolated on the ball he shows excellent concentration, focus & ability to use his hands away from his body. I'm hoping he could get stronger in mini-fall camps with proper diet & nutrition along with workout regiment. Similar body build, speed comparable to Randy Moss.

I've seen more of him than anyone here, and way more than the 4 Evan Silva watched. Granted, I don't get paid to evaluate NFL talent, but I can tell you as a fan of the team that Hill has played on, he has broken my heart with blatant drops in the wide open field more times than I can count.

Is it a technique issue? Concentration? Is it something a coach can help him with?

Ironic that most of the guys here have been bashing Jacoby Jones for years and they want to take a similar project with our 1st round pick. Hill was a mid round prospect before the combine (and that's taking potential into account beforehand). Anyone who was familiar with him before this weekend knew he was going to run fast.

We don't need another project WR right now. Grab a solid guy in the 1st or 2nd because that's what we need. We don't need 2 Jacoby Jones' running around out there.

If WR is as big a need as many on this board say it is, then why would you waste your top pick on a project player who will not contribute early in his career.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

This, this, this.

As a Georgia Tech fan I have seen a bunch of Hill. He has no problem getting downfield and has the size you'd love. But, he simply cannot catch the ball.

He's the quintessential workout warrior who will be overdrafted because of his combine numbers and will bust in the NFL.

I would not touch him with a 10-foot pole.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolverineFan

Why is that? They are/were both projects. That was the comparison.

We don't need to waste another 1st round pick on a project player at a position of need (Okoye). If WR is truly a need then pass on the 'sexier' prospect and take the solid guy who can contribute to the team. Guys like Floyd, Sanu, McNutt, etc. can contribute now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

I've seen more of him than anyone here, and way more than the 4 Evan Silva watched. Granted, I don't get paid to evaluate NFL talent, but I can tell you as a fan of the team that Hill has played on, he has broken my heart with blatant drops in the wide open field more times than I can count.

Thank you x 10! People get so caught up with combine numbers and don't look at the body of work a receiver puts together. BeerLover, we share the same love (of beer obviously) but not for Stephen Hill. I'd probably cry into my beer if we drafted him. If we got him in the 7th I'd still be sad.

I will go with NtZ here. The good thing is Hill will probably push Randle(my guy) or K.Wright down to the Texans.

As far as Hill goes I can see BL side of this. He's an amazing athlete. Who played on an option team and hasn't learned how to run the route tree. (Understandably) Also it's not like Hill was playing with Luck or Griffin as his QB.

If the Texans already had a competent WR corps then I would be all for taking Hill in the 1st. Since they dont give me a more pro ready guy like Randle in the 1st and a guy like Joe Adams/Danny Coale in the 4th.

The best thing about Hill is that someone will roll the dice and grab him before our pick, thus pushing a better player down to us.

The guy is an elite athlete who will get nasty in the running game. I love that about him.

But let's tap the brakes here a bit. The guy has tons of negatives:

-He ran about three different routes in his entire college career. The learning curve is going to be tremendous for him.

-From what I've seen, he has the ability to make the great catch but he is not a natural catcher. Too many wide open drops. I wouldn't say he fights the ball but he prefers to use his body instead of his hands.

-The reason his yards per catch is so high is because defenders are getting sucked up by the option game and he just uses his long speed to run past them. He is wide open because of the scheme, not because of his ability as a receiver.

There are reasons to be excited about him as a prospect. But he is a big time project. I don't 100% agree with the Jacoby Jones comparisons but he is way way closer to that than he is to the Calvin Johnsons of the league. I can easily think of about ten guys I would rather have, and most of them could be had later in the draft.

Is it a technique issue? Concentration? Is it something a coach can help him with?

That's not something I will pretend to be qualified to speculate on.

I will say that from my impression, not that I have gone back and rewatched games or anything, that most of his drops came in the open field. The nature of Tech's offense will produce play action passes in which the WR will be wide open, uncovered more often than not. One might speculate too wide open (though they were the same passes Thomas was catching).

This is just my recollection, so it could be biased, skewed, or downright wrong. But, that's what I've taken away from Hill's career at Tech.

__________________
"You always hear about how tough they are and all that stuff," Orton said. "I don't think they are tough. I think they are cheap..."

The best thing about Hill is that someone will roll the dice and grab him before our pick, thus pushing a better player down to us.

The guy is an elite athlete who will get nasty in the running game. I love that about him.

But let's tap the brakes here a bit. The guy has tons of negatives:

-He ran about three different routes in his entire college career. The learning curve is going to be tremendous for him.

-From what I've seen, he has the ability to make the great catch but he is not a natural catcher. Too many wide open drops. I wouldn't say he fights the ball but he prefers to use his body instead of his hands.

-The reason his yards per catch is so high is because defenders are getting sucked up by the option game and he just uses his long speed to run past them. He is wide open because of the scheme, not because of his ability as a receiver.

There are reasons to be excited about him as a prospect. But he is a big time project. I don't 100% agree with the Jacoby Jones comparisons but he is way way closer to that than he is to the Calvin Johnsons of the league. I can easily think of about ten guys I would rather have, and most of them could be had later in the draft.

There are a lot of truth to this assesments (as well as from a couple others).

However, I see a lot of potential and good things in Hill.

I was able to watch 2 of his games (for now) and highlights from 3 other games (with some studying of the game books).

There are a lot to like about this kid.
There was one dropped ball in those 5 games.
I hope to have a report of some sort on Hill tomorrow night.

Not knowing anything about this guy and after reading this thread I saw a guy over at BRB putting a scouting report on him. They evaluated him for his game against UNC and had this to say..

Quote:

Hill has great measurables. Tall, Lanky, Fast. However he lacks some fundamental skills as a receiver. Football players aren't just athletes, they require skills and techniques that allow them to play the game of football as a receiver. In this game tape, I just don't see it. Poor route running, poor catching technique. I see athlete, fast and catches long balls but I don't see receiver on plays like example one and four. I see dropped balls and to be honest, flag football routes. As a consolation though, Hill is a pretty good blocker, the system and his size has allowed him to become an adequate blocker, something valued by our system. I would like to break down more film on Hill but from what I see, Hill's bad habit (body catches) actually came to get him at the end and as a player he really needs to work on that. Hill can still show his progress at his pro day. I want to see him gain at least 5 lbs of muscle but still maintain his elite speed. That will show me that he is dedicated to improving his size but remains in shape. Also I want to see him look more like a receiver. I want him to catch with his hands and run routes in 90 and 45 degree angles. Stephen Hill has a lot more to prove before he is worth the 26th overall pick in my opinion.